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Deathstroke (Arrowverse)
NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Deathstroke from the Arrowverse. The mainstream version can be found here: Deathstroke (DC Comics). Slade Wilson, otherwise known as the supervillain Deathstroke, is a major antagonist on The CW's live-action television series Arrow. He is an anti-hero in the flashback storyline of Season 1, the main antagonist in the second half of Season 2, the main antagonist of the second half in the flashback storyline of the second season, the main antagonist in the Season 3 episode, " The Return", a mentioned character in Season 4, and an anti-hero in both Season 5 and Season 6. He was portrayed by , who also played Azog in The Hobbit trilogy. Personality In the flashbacks, unlike the DC comics character counterpart he was based on, Slade appears less cold and distant, but retains his appearance of an anti-hero. Slade is a man of honor and good morals, who puts up a tough act, but underneath is a caring individual, as shown by his rescue of Oliver from Edward Fyers and Billy Wintergreen, even after stating that he'd leave the island if Oliver didn't return in time. Slade does not take well to traitors, which he shows by killing Billy Wintergreen, his friend and partner for many years until he betrayed Slade in exchange for his own life. Slade is very open about his opinions of people, frequently calling Oliver an idiot, and doesn't hide that he likes Shado, which she often smiles at. Slade only trusts and cares for people who have proven themselves trustworthy to him, as he trusts Oliver and Shado, but was less trusting of Sara Lance as they had barely known each other. Slade was also a realist but also open minded. Upon realizing Oliver was hopeless in helping him take down Edward Fyers, he decided to perform a coup de grace on Oliver to spare him any suffering from facing Fyers, but also to prevent his location from being given up. However, upon realizing being on the brink of death began to awaken the warrior inside Oliver, Slade changed his mind about killing Oliver and decided to train him. Slade's personality takes a turn for the worse after his injection with Mirakuru, which combined with his grief over the loss of Shado makes him impulsive, reckless, aggressive, violent, and bent on revenge against Ivo. Once he discovers Oliver's shared role in Shado's death he becomes completely hell bent on revenge against him which would stay for years after, tarnishing the brotherly bond they once had and making them bitter enemies. In the present day Slade's anger and hatred has increased more to the point of full vendetta against Oliver upon learning of his survival on the island. Slade is intelligent, calculating, and patient; he waited 5 years to get/plan his revenge against Oliver. He is also overconfident and boastful of his Mirakuru powers and has no fear of Oliver because of them. These traits are well deserved as bullets do no harm to him and even getting cut to the bone doesn't affect him as it all heals back, though explosives and poisons can still harm him but only for a brief time. He is rarely caught off guard. Slade also has little tolerance for disobedience, failure and disloyalty, as multiple times he threatened to kill Sebastian Blood for his failures, eventually having him killed for betraying him. Due to the Mirakuru, Slade's sense of honor has become twisted, and when it comes to Oliver, he is cruel, sadistic and ruthless. He displays little emotion when killing innocent people. He also has developed a complete disregard for human life as watched amused as his army tore Starling City apart, his only regret being that Shado couldn't be there. He also holds little regard for his own allies as he cared little for his own men being cured, however Slade seems to be close to Isabel as he seemed desperate to have her revived by the Mirakuru. However Slade was still willing to abandon her to Oliver during the attack and it's unknown if he is aware of Isabel's death at Nyssa's hands or how he feels about it. Slade also suffers from hallucinations of Shado which have lasted from the past to present. Even when cured from the Mirakuru the physiological effects have still remained as he still vows to kill Oliver even when confined and defeated. Even a whole year later this vendetta still stayed when Oliver and Thea were trapped on the island with him. Though he had become less hostile and wasn't even phased by being imprisoned again and even gave advise to keep Thea away from Malcolm, but reminds him that he will break if he loses more people, hinting that he has regained some respect for his former protégé and former friend. Even when Thea had him at gunpoint, Slade did not beg for his life,meaning either he is not afraid of death, or he will never give his enemies the satisfaction of seeing him beg for his life, He even tried to goad Thea into killing him. By the time Oliver returns to Lian Yu to recruit Slade for his army against Prometheus, the effects of the Mirakuru have been purged from his system and Slade no longer has a hatred towards Oliver, behaving like the man Oliver first met years ago. The two are able to mend a friendship and form a respect for each other as fathers and abandons being the Green Arrow to be a father to William per Slade's advice. Slade finds out to his horror that his son, Joe, is the head of the Jackals and admits to Oliver that despite their amends, he was still tempted to kill Oliver while he was held hostage as there's nothing he wouldn't do for his kid but relented when Oliver mentioned William and couldn't rob another son of his father. Powers and Abilities Former Powers *'Enhanced Physical Condition': In an effort to save his life after he was fatally wounded, Slade was injected with the Mirakuru serum, which altered his physiology. The injection initially made him either faint or temporarily die as Oliver felt no pulse before Slade woke up, with extreme pain and bloody tears as side effects. After his awakening, his whole body boosted to levels that far exceed those of a normal human. Among their physical capacity were increased stamina, strength, durability, agility, senses, reflexes, and an accelerated healing factor. The effects of the serum were lost when Oliver cured him several years later. **'Accelerated Healing Factor': The Mirakuru serum injection has greatly enhanced Slade's ability to heal, allowing him to rapidly recover from even the most crippling, debilitating and grievous of injuries, so long as they would not immediately be fatal. By the time he awoke after the injection, the injuries on the right side of his face and the after effects of his injuries earlier were completely healed. He was shown to be shot through the chest, and it does not affect his abilities. According to him, Slade was carried under the water after somehow being defeated by Oliver and was badly torn apart by the rocks, but his body was eventually healed. It was revealed that Slade was not defeated by Oliver; the reason why he ended up under-water was because he became immobilized by falling debris from the Amazo, which was sinking. **'Enhanced Strength': hanks to the Mirakuru serum, Slade's muscular system allows for incredible strength. He was capable of effortlessly launching Ivo's men several meters away, breaking an assault rifle in half with his bare hands, and piercing a man's chest with only his fist by punching him. **'Enhanced Durability': The Mirakuru serum, increased the resistance of the muscle and bone structure of Slade, causing them to become more durable than a normal human's, as he was barely fazed while being hit with large tree branches, which was done by both one of Ivo's men and by Sara. In addition, when Slade was punched by Roy, also injected with the Mirakuru, he was barely fazed. **'Enhanced Speed': Slade could run at speeds out-performing any Olympic athlete. He was able to run from the submarine to another side of the island, where Oliver and Shado were held, in minutes while it took at least a few hours for everyone else to traverse the island on foot. Slade also managed to kill three of Sebastian Blood's men behind him, dive in front of Blood and disappear again in a matter of seconds. When Oliver was out on patrol looking for Slade, Slade was already behind him on one of the rooftops, when Oliver turned around, he was already gone. Slade, possibly, is so fast he will disappear in a second when someone looks away or is not looking at him. Abilities *'Peak of Human Physical Condition': Slade is in top physical form for a man of his age. His reflexes allowed him to catch an arrow shot at him by Oliver. *'Eidetic Memory': Slade has a perfect memory, as he remembered the exact details of Shado's dragon tattoo, as Slade had one of the Amazo's crew brand it on Oliver's back, as a way to always remind Oliver that he was partly responsible for Shado's death. *'High-Level Intellect/Master Tactician/Leader': Slade is extremely intelligent and a near flawless tactician, he is able to create plans for combat, infiltration, and destruction and has been one of the few to have ever tactically outsmarted Oliver up until the end of their feud. He is extremely efficient, even at a great disadvantage, or with few resources. Slade with the help of Oliver quickly formulated a plan to take over an airfield crowded with troops, and later managed to destroy much of Edward Fyer's compound alone, using only improvised explosives and distraction. Later, Slade was also shown to be well-versed in mathematics, doing various mathematical calculations to program a missile launcher to directly hit the ship Ivo and his crew were on. He proved an expert in fighting techniques, developing specific plans to attack his targets, using the environment to his advantage and distractions. He was able to calculate the flight with a parachute to land on the freighter. After the island getaway, Slade went on a personal vendetta against Oliver. He devised an extremely complex plan that could keep his enemies, like Team Arrow and Oliver overwhelmed, as well as to infiltrate the government of Star City, taking Queen Consolidated away from Oliver, and by the end, create an army of superhumans that can generate chaos and destruction throughout the city. Slade is also a capable leader, he was able to lead an organization known as the Church of Blood with Sebastian Blood and was able to do it in secret. **'Master Deceiver': Slade is a very good liar, able to feign betraying Oliver twice by pretending to side with Adrian Chase team get out of a bad situation. *'Indomitable Will/High Pain Tolerance/Master Survivor': Slade has a high tolerance for pain. Oliver had to pull a bullet out of Slade's arm without any form of anesthetic, albeit he had to tie him up (on Slade's suggestion) because he might kill Oliver otherwise. He was also able to take down several of Edward Fyers' henchmen with an injured leg. Slade also has the skills of a natural survivor as he continued to live stranded on Lian Yu by himself and later with Oliver and Shado. *'Stealth/Infiltration': As a former member of ASIS, Slade is well versed in stealth and infiltration. Slade was able to steal a file from the archives without being seen on the security cameras. Slade was able to stalk Oliver without getting noticed. Slade was able to enter Verdant and then enter the Arrowcave, without being seen, noticed or making any alarms go off. On Lian Yu he was able to sneak up on Thea and Oliver multiple times before they had a chance to react, and later against Talia's acolytes. *'Master Combatant/Martial Artist': Slade is shown to have highly advanced unarmed and close-range fighting skills, and likewise able to effectively mentor Oliver in his ways of combat and survival. He was able to spar with Shado to a stalemate in combat, although it can be implied that Slade held back a little. He also soundly beat and killed his former partner Billy Wintergreen, who was also a master hand to hand combatant with enough skill to defeat Yao Fei. His fighting style mostly incorporates Escrima with Muay Thai while supplemented with Karate, Silat, and Boxing. After being augmented by the Mirakuru, Slade's combat skills have increased to the point where he was able to easily beat Oliver, John Diggle and Sara Lance at the same time despite all three being seasoned fighters. Despite this, even while cured of Mirakuru and struggling to remain conscious, Slade proved to be still skilled enough to fight on par with and even at times dominate Oliver before being eventually defeated. A year after being imprisoned on Lian Yu, Slade was able to knock out Oliver and Thea in mere seconds. In a second encounter he fought off Thea and Oliver at the same time and easily broke out of Oliver's hold and later overpowered and restrained him, only being defeated when Thea pulled a gun on him and shot him in the arm, implying that he has been retraining himself, and that it is very likely that his combat skills will eventually return to the way they used to be, before he became reliant on his Mirakuru powers. By the time Oliver recruited Slade against Adrian Chase and his allies, having spent two years on Lian Yu, Slade has apparently regained all of his former combat skills, as seen when he is able to swiftly overwhelm Digger Harkness and easily defeated Talia al Ghul's acolytes whose training were nearly identical to the League of Assassins in mere seconds as well as swiftly and easily take out close to twenty members of the Jackals without sustaining any injury and while holding back, fight evenly with and eventually beat his son, Joe Wilson, forcing Joe to resort to trickery to defeat him, proving that Slade is still one of the deadliest fighters in the multiverse. **'Military Training': As a former soldier for ASIS, Slade has gone through heavy military training, becoming one of the best. ***'Master Stick Fighter': Slade is a master stick fighter, as he was seen sparring with Oliver in stick fighting, teaching him everything he knows about this form of combat. ***'Master Swordsman': Slade is an incredibly skilled swordsman, cutting down multiple armed mercenaries in mere seconds. He has explicitly stated his weapon of choice are swords. He killed his former partner in a sword-fight, who was also a master swordsman. In the present day, due to his Mirakuru powers, Slade's swordsman skills have increased to the point where he was able to kill three of Sebastian's bodyguards in a matter of seconds. It has been seen that the years he spent imprisoned in Lian Yu without properly practicing his sword fighting skills has not reduced their effiency, as Slade was able to swiftly cut down multiple students of Talia al Ghul on multiple encounters when helping Team Arrow against Adrian Chase and Talia's forces, who had training similar to the League of Assassins and later did the same to nearly 20 members of the Jackals and also fought on par with Joe in their sword fight and managed to gain the upper hand while holding back, only being overpowered by his son through trickery. Besides his prowess at close range, he was also shown to be able to kill a guard by drawing his sword and throw it in one single motion. ***'Master Marksman': Slade is an excellent marksman, as he took out many soldiers with his sniper rifle, and was able to take out several soldiers with only two handguns. He was also able to easily shoot down many members of the Jackal using a single rifle before they could attempt to fire. Weaknesses *'Mirakuru Side Effects': Although the Mirakuru enhanced Slade's physical abilities it greatly deteriorated his mind. Slade frequently experienced violent and often uncontrollable moments of rage. Additionally, Slade also suffered from hallucinations of Shado, who only infuriated him further. *'Limited Healing Factor': Despite the Mirakuru in his body accelerating his rate of healing, it was not able to heal his right eye after Oliver stabbed an arrow into it. Equipment *'AK-47': On the island, Slade used a stolen assault rifle to kill several soldiers. *'ASIS Uniform': During his time with the ASIS and on the island, Slade used a customized military uniform. It was predominantly black in color and was composed of a bulletproof vest, along with the protective shoulders and forearms. The uniform also had a holster for pistol, a support for grenades, and two sheaths for swords on the back. *'Deathstroke Mask': Slade possesses a black and orange mask. The version worn on the island is a solid mask with a fabric balaclava. The version in the present day appears to be a metal helmet, with the black side acting as an eyepatch. The back of the helmet features a strip of bandana, giving the illusion that the mask is tied on. Slade wears this mask as his villain alter-ego Deathstroke, to protect himself and hide his identity. *'Deathstroke Suit': In present day, Slade wears a protective suit as his villain alter-ego, Deathstroke, to hide his identity from his victims. It is a tactical suit of body armor custom tailored to his needs. It is predominantly black, but also adds blue protective plates and composite fiberglass, which overlap the feet, shins, forearms, chest and shoulders. The costume also has orange details on all of the joints. There are various equipment pockets on the costume, and there are three smoke grenades and ammunition strapped on to the chest. In addition, the suit could house all of Slade's primary weapons; there is a sheath on the back for his katana sword, a holster on his right thigh for his pistol, another sheath on his left leg for his tactical knife, and a pocket on the back of his belt for his throwing daggers. *'Customized Swords': On the island, Slade wields customized swords that he carries on his back. *'Sword': In the present day, Slade wields a sword, similar in appearance to a katana. In "Blind Spot", he used it to kill three of Sebastian's bodyguards in a matter of seconds. *'Sidearm': In both the present day and several times on the island, Slade carries a handgun. *'AK-47': On the island, Slade uses a stolen assault rifle to kill several soldiers. *'Sniper Rifle': On the island, when Slade stormed the runway with the help of Oliver, he used a sniper rifle to kill most of the soldiers. *'Combat Knife': In both the present day and on the island, Slade carries a combat knife in his boot. *'ASIS Uniform': During his time at ASIS and on the island, used a customized military uniform. It had the predominant color black, was composed by a bulletproof vest, along with the protective shoulders and forearms. The uniform also had a holster for pistol, a support for grenades, and two sheaths for swords back. *'Deathstroke Costume': In the present day, Slade wears a costume as his villain alter-ego Deathstroke, to hide his identity from his victims. It is a personal suit of body armor custom tailored to his needs. It is predominantly black, however adds blue protective plates, composite fiberglass, these overlap feet, shin, forearm, chest and shoulders. The costume also has orange details in all joints. The various equipment Pockets with wrapped legs, and arms, the costume also has a support for grenades and ammunition, along with a sheath for the sword back. *'Deathstroke Mask': Slade possesses a black and orange mask. The version kept on the island is a solid mask with a black/orange fabric balaklava. The version in the present day appears to be a metal helmet, with the black side acting as an eye-patch. With the back of a strip of bandanna. Slade wears this mask as his villain alter-ego Deathstroke, to hide his identity from his victims. Appearances Killed Victims *Xien Ming/Darryl *Billy Wintergreen *"The Butcher" *Hendrick Von Arnim (Presumed) *Alexi Leonov *Moira Queen *Numerous unnamed mercenaries *Numerous unnamed pirates *Numerous unnamed ASIS agents and recruits *Several unnamed A.R.G.U.S. agents *Several unnamed Iron Heights security officers *Unnamed S.T.A.R. Labs security guard *Numerous unnamed people *Numerous unnamed members of the Jackals Indirectly *Anthony Ivo *Anna Loring *Sebastian Blood / Brother Blood *Isabel Rochev / Ravager *Numerous unnamed people Trivia *In "The Odyssey", Slade mentions that Billy Wintergreen was the godfather of his son. Slade has had three children in the comic books, two boys and a girl. His oldest son, Grant, was known as Ravager, and his other son, Joseph, was the Teen Titan Jericho. His daughter, Rose, became the new Ravager after Grant's death. In the Arrow spin-off DC's Legends of Tomorrow episode "Star City 2046", Slade's son Grant has taken up the mantle of Deathstroke and led an uprising against Star City, gaining control of it and filling it with crime and fires and also removing Oliver Queen's arm and forcing him into hiding. *Slade is the first antagonist to be the main antagonist of a season AND its flashbacks, albeit later into the season he becomes the flashback antagonist. Also, he is the first person to be a flashback antagonist and actually live past the events of this encounter. The next one is Amanda Waller in the flashbacks of Season 3. *In the DC comics, his full name is Slade Joseph Wilson. *Slade Wilson was Oliver Queen's second mentor, after Yao Fei, and arguably his most effective as he taught Oliver most of his melee combat and athletic skills. *Slade is the first antagonist to be credited as a main character. *The bi-colored "Deathstroke mask" on the island closely mirrors the one worn by Deathstroke in the DC comic books. The metal helmet seen in present day resembles Deathstroke's portrayal in Batman: Arkham Origins as well as various cartoons. *In the Flashpoint Universe, Slade Wilson was also a ship captain. *Slade became the second main antagonist to kill a main character when he killed Moira. The first was Malcolm Merlyn killing his son Tommy, albeit that was indirect which would make Slade the first main antagonist to intentionally kill a main character. He's also the second main antagonist to have accidentally killed his own son as he accidentally killed his son Joe during a fight against the A.S.I.S. *Slade Wilson is one of the few main antagonists of the Arrowverse to be still alive. The others being Eobard Thawne, Kuasa, Samantha Arias and Selena. 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